European UAV Programs May Advance

Robert Wall and Amy Svitak wrote in this week's Aviation Week & Space Technology about movement in French and German unmanned aircraft programs:

In Germany and France, there are now signs that long-expected unmanned aircraft modernization programs may be gaining traction, if only at an early stage. Both countries are mulling whether fixed-wing or helicopter-based systems are the way forward, or whether they should buy a mix of systems. Despite much discussion in Europe about cooperation on new procurements, at this point there is no indication that Berlin and Paris plan to work hand-in-hand.

Some of the systems concerned are Rheinmetall's KZO, EMT's Luna and Museco, Sagem's Patroller and EADS's Tanan.

The pioneer years of aviation included both successful and misguided efforts to make the number of safe landings approximate to the number of takeoffs. Here are some notable examples on both sides of that record.